Talent management experts SumTotal Systems has announced the results of a joint study with the Fosway Group. It examined factors that have a positive effect on the effectiveness of talent management and human resources development in the EMEA region. At the same time, the biggest obstacles and shortcomings that hamper human resources, development and production have been identified. Nowadays, as companies seek to develop the skills and development of their people to support digital transformation, these factors play an important role.

The report "Talent Management and People Development in Practice: A Call to Action" is based on a study jointly conducted by SumTotal and the Fosway Group in late 2017. It examined future working models, major structural changes and digital transformation technologies. The study provides an overview of the technological challenges and costs needed to attract, promote, develop and retain talented individuals. The survey is based on a survey of HR managers from the EMEA region and has been supplemented by up-to-date data from Fosway's own research on this topic.

The results show that factors such as recruitment, training, talent management, and employee retention are key drivers of talent advantage. However, the technology solutions used so far do not meet the HR requirements. For example, around one-third (33 percent) of surveyed companies still rely on spreadsheets to manage talent and HR development processes, while one in five (21 percent) has no adequate tools to assess and track their HR efforts.

On the positive side, nearly 80 percent of companies plan to expand their HR and talent management technologies and increase investment. In particular, areas such as onboarding, recruiting / talent acquisition, performance management, analysis and learning & development play an important role, as the study shows. Almost half of respondents (45 percent) believe that in less than two years, artificial intelligence and robotics will be central to their human resources organization.

"The latest study by SumTotal and the Fosway Group shows how important it is today for all companies to further develop their employees' skills through incentive programs to support their careers. There is virtually no other option," said Liam Butler, VP of EMEA at SumTotal Systems. "With changing working conditions and economic uncertainty, the importance of recruitment, human resources development, and employee retention is becoming increasingly important." 

Other key findings from the study include:

In terms of digital transformation in talent management, corporate progress is lagging behind expectations. Almost all respondents (96 percent) have no clear idea of ​​the benefits that digital transformation can bring. 
Only 9 percent of companies are convinced that their employee development technologies work in a modern work environment. Just over 20 percent state that their HR systems are not prepared for modern human resource management. 
Half of all companies surveyed used either spreadsheets or no tools to manage the performance of their talents.
The inability of HR departments to measure the value of their activities based on real business results will slow down their long-term success: 

• Less than half (44 percent) measure the impact of their HR strategies on strategic business goals
• Only a quarter (25 percent) consider the relationship between talent coaching and the performance of individuals and teams; 
• Around one fifth (21 percent) does not carry out a success assessment. 
• Three-quarters (76 percent) of companies expect to see more human resources and more technology in the future. In all areas of HR-IT higher investments are planned.

"The changes in our working environment and within workforces are a big issue for each one of us. Nevertheless, companies struggle to prepare their employees for this change and to promote it with up-to-date strategies. As a result, the gap between employee know-how and skills is growing," commented David Wilson, CEO of the Fosway Group. "This study demonstrates the importance of human resources, learning and talent management to accelerate innovation management through Employee performance can be meaningfully reconciled with real business goals." 

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